Andrew McKay says Mick Malthouse still the man to take Carlton forward

Daniel Cherny

Mick Malthouse remains the man best suited to take Carlton forward, but there is a dearth of leaders across the Blues' playing ranks, according to the club's football operations manager Andrew McKay.

Speaking to 3AW on Sunday following the Blues' shock 23-point loss to lowly Melbourne, McKay firmly defended the club's decision to hire its under-fire coach.

"Mick obviously has an enormous amount of experience, he's been down this road before himself, he's done it before at other clubs," McKay said.

"If anyone is going to pull us out of this, Mick's the man to do it."

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The loss to the Demons was Carlton's fourth in succession, consigning the Blues to their worst start to a season in a quarter of a century.

McKay, himself a premiership player, best and fairest winner and former club captain, conceded that Carlton's on-field leaders needed to improve.

"Certainly [there were] a lot of vocal boys before the game, Andrew Carrazzo was the most vocal, and Kade Simpson ... they were getting the boys up and about, [but] we probably are lacking a little bit in on-field leadership."

The contentious mid-week meeting between Malthouse and the players to discuss the Blues' game plan had been overblown in terms of importance, McKay said.

"Mick mentioned it in one of the team meetings we had, it wasn't a specific meeting to talk about the game plan.

"It wasn't a big deal or panic stations about calling a specific meeting to ask them, 'Are we all 100 per cent behind the game plan?' It was more an off-the-cuff comment within a meeting."

McKay believed that ultimately Carlton's woes stemmed from a lack of confidence that had spread throughout the team.

"The mind is a very powerful thing when it comes to sport, once you lose a little bit of confidence it looks as though the desire goes, it looks as though the skill goes, it looks as though the fitness goes and many other things.

"But in actual fact those things don't disappear overnight, it's more of a mental state and the guys need to concentrate on that mental state and try and get their confidence back so they can actually execute the skill and the fitness and the intent that is required to actually win games of footy.

"We are taking it very, very seriously, but we need to be positive."

Despite the Blues mustering a mere seven goals against the Demons, McKay defended the omission of forwards Jarrad Waite and Jeff Garlett, as well as the recruitment of high-priced former Magpie Dale Thomas, who has struggled thus far in 2014.

"We're always trying to improve the list, I think we did a pretty good job of that last year," McKay said.

Blues' powerbroker Bruce Mathieson agreed that it is an under-performing playing group and not Malthouse that are blame for Carlton's plight.

Mathieson lashed out savagely at several senior players, including captain Marc Murphy and out-of-contract midfielder Bryce Gibbs when speaking to 3AW on Saturday night.

"You have to look at your players. How many of our players would get a game at Hawthorn? There'd be lucky to be three or four," the former Carlton diretor and pokies tycoon said.

"'I go through them all...Murphy, bloody Gibbs, are they worth their money? They are getting Rolls Royce money."

Mathieson believed that a re-build was necessary, but refused to point the finger at Malthouse who is into his second season at the club having won premierships at both West Coast and Collingwood.

"I think we're a good 5-7 years away. I don't see them improving much.

"It's just pathetic really. It's a disgrace in my opinion.

"You can't blame Mick."

Mathieson argued that wholesale change was required in order to deliver Carlton its first premiership in 19 seasons.

"They should start right [at the top] this time. New president, look right through the club now. There's no use hanging around."